‘They’re busy people’

Snowbirds check out woodworks during Winter Resident Appreciation Day at the Panama City Beach Visitors Center on Friday.

Andrew Wardlow / The News Herald

By VALERIE GARMAN / The News Herald

Published: Friday, January 25, 2013 at 07:27 PM.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Harry Blackwell doesn’t like the winter.

For the last 10 winters, he’s fled to Panama City Beach to escape negative temperatures back at his home east of Toronto, Canada.

Blackwell joined hundreds of fellow snowbirds Friday for the third Winter Resident Appreciation Day at the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to learn a little more about his seasonal home.

“I walk by here every day; I stopped in to get a coffee, but there are lots of good things here,” Blackwell said. “You learn a lot no matter how long you’ve been here. There’s always something new.”

CVB staff said the crowds were “light, but steady” Friday morning, as hundreds of winter visitors poured through the doors to gather information about the area and socialize with friends.

Visitors browsed dozens of booths from local businesses and nonprofits, including Gulf Coast Medical Center, the Panama City Beach Senior Center, The Ark, Resort Quest and more, and enjoyed free coffee and doughnuts.

At the previous, and by far the busiest, Winter Resident Appreciation Day on Jan. 11, the visitors center burned through 35 dozen doughnuts in about 30 minutes, with about 850 snowbirds in attendance.

For the last 10 winters, he’s fled to Panama City Beach to escape negative temperatures back at his home east of Toronto, Canada.

Blackwell joined hundreds of fellow snowbirds Friday for the third Winter Resident Appreciation Day at the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to learn a little more about his seasonal home.

“I walk by here every day; I stopped in to get a coffee, but there are lots of good things here,” Blackwell said. “You learn a lot no matter how long you’ve been here. There’s always something new.”

CVB staff said the crowds were “light, but steady” Friday morning, as hundreds of winter visitors poured through the doors to gather information about the area and socialize with friends.

Visitors browsed dozens of booths from local businesses and nonprofits, including Gulf Coast Medical Center, the Panama City Beach Senior Center, The Ark, Resort Quest and more, and enjoyed free coffee and doughnuts.

At the previous, and by far the busiest, Winter Resident Appreciation Day on Jan. 11, the visitors center burned through 35 dozen doughnuts in about 30 minutes, with about 850 snowbirds in attendance.

CVB visitor service manager Barrie Ainslie said the months of January and February are “crunch time” for snowbirds, the majority of whom try to leave the area before the spring breakers come through in March.

“I think people are in their element now,” Ainslie said of the slight drop in attendance. “They know what’s going on; they’ve got their days planned out.”

The final Winter Resident Appreciation Day of the season will be Feb. 15 at the CVB.

Ainslie said the snowbird calendar has been full this year, with staff working to create a sense of community among winter residents.